The Fighter

by Elin Peer

Raven shook her head. “I can’t.”

  “Why not?”

  “Just can’t.”

  “Ahh, I see…” I gave her a slow nod. “I’ve read about this sort of thing in books. You have your monthly bloodbath, don’t you?”

  That got Raven’s attention and she crossed her arms. “I have work to do.”

  It was almost painful to see her be such a pseudo version of herself. There was no playful energy and no provocations. She just wanted me to leave her alone, and it drove me a bit desperate to fix whatever it was I had broken.

  “Is it because of what happened between me and Gennie? Is that why you’re so down?”

  Raven tilted her head. “Did something happen between you and Gennie that I don’t know about?”

  “No, I was referring to Gennie coming on to me.”

  “Oh.”

  “You got upset about it and I’ve been thinking, Raven.”

  She kept looking at me, tapping her pen on the table with impatience while waiting for me to go on.

  “Are you in love with me?”

  Her eyes were blinking a few times. “Yes, Leo, I’m madly in love with you. How did you know?”

  “Wait, you are?”

  She rolled her eyes. “No, you idiot. Why would you think that?”

  “Because you didn’t want Gennie to have me. And don’t call me an idiot. I’m your boss.”

  Raven sighed. “I didn’t want you to be with Gennie because a man almost lost his genitals because of her. She’s just bad news.”

  “True, but I’m not married. I don’t have a jealous wife.”

  Raven leaned forward. “And what about the other men she fucks? Do you want to be in her bed when one of them shows up thinking she belongs to him?”

  “I can take care of myself.”

  Raven looked at the door and back to me. “Leo, honestly, go be with her if you want to. I don’t care.”

  “I don’t want to. Told you that she isn’t my type.”

  “Right.” A small smile grew on Raven’s lips. “So, what is your type exactly?”

  “I would tell you, but you just said you don’t care.” I got up and moved the chair back.

  Raven picked up a stack of files on the table and pushed her chair back. As she walked past me, she brushed my arm and it made an electric current run up and down my spine. Raven was the only woman whom I’d ever been alone with and I was reluctant to leave.

  “What are you doing this weekend?”

  Placing files on top of different piles, Raven spoke without looking at me. “Mila and I have plans tonight and Saturday I’m taking a shift for Laura at the school.”

  “What school?”

  “The one where I grew up. Laura teaches fight training there and since she and Magni are going to the east coast to visit Laura’s sister, I promised that I’d do it for her.”

  “The kids have school on Saturdays?”

  “No. It’s an advanced class that’s voluntary, but there’s always more than ten who show up.”

  We were standing only a few steps apart when she turned and went for another pile of files.

  “If you want, I could help you train the children and we could spar after.”

  Raven wrinkled her nose. “What is it with you and Cameron? Did you know he asked me to spar with him less than an hour ago?”

  “I’m just trying to be helpful.”

  Raven moved closer and leaned her head back to look up at me. “Is your type of woman someone who can kick your ass? Is that why you’re being weird right now? Did it turn you on when I wrapped my legs around your neck and squeezed?”

  “Very funny.”

  “No, it’s a serious matter because if you’re into that sort of role-playing you probably shouldn’t fight for Mila. I doubt she could handle a man who needs to be submissive to get off.”

  I pushed my chest out and spoke in an offended tone of voice. “You know I’m not submissive.”

  Tilting her head, Raven gave me a skeptical once-over. “Then why do you keep begging me to spar with you?”

  “I’m not begging, I was offering because we both know that you need all the fucking help you can get.”

  “Is that right?”

  We stood head to head, neither of us blinking.

  “I wish we were in the gym so I could take you down right now. I’m not submissive, Raven.”

  “Then what are you?”

  Taking a step forward, I spoke in a low gruff voice: “You wanna know what I am? I’m more man than a young girl like you can handle.” I knew my mistake the moment I said it.

  “Hmm, in that case I should warn my friend. I doubt Mila can handle you if I can’t. She’s a year younger than me, you know.”

  “That’s different.”

  “Why?”

  “Because Mila is sweet and she doesn’t rile me up all the time.”

  Raven had a sly smile on her pretty face when she rose up on her toes and whispered in my ear. “Admit it, Leo, you love it when I rile you up.”

  I folded my hands into fists, refusing to admit the obvious. I was down here because I had become a fucking addict of her riling me up. There was no one like Raven. The attention she gave me could be negative for all I cared, as long as she wasn’t indifferent to me.

  “No? Are you too proud to admit it?”

  “Be happy that we’re not in the gym or I would put you in your place.” The rules that allowed us men at the station to touch Raven only covered fight training, where it was necessary.

  She didn’t back down. Her pupils were dilated and her stare challenging. “What would you do? Huh, Leo? How would you put me in my place?” Knowing that I couldn’t touch her, Raven began circling me slowly, while looking up at me. “Would you throw me to the ground and pin my hands, huh? Would you get on top of me and use your larger body to keep me in my so-called place?”

  My breathing was picking up as my pulse was racing. “You sure you want to provoke me like that? You know I could do all those things to you.”

  Raven gave a small shrug. “Oh, I’m sure you will the next time I allow it.”

  “Allow it?”

  “Yes. I have to allow you to touch me.”

  “I don’t want to touch you, I want to fight with you.”

  Reaching her hand up, Raven placed it on my cheek. “You’re just like the others. The only reason you want to fight me is so you can touch me.”

  My fingers closed around her wrist in an iron grip. “Don’t touch me.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because I fucking said so.”

  It was hard enough to control my need to be physical with her when she didn’t touch me. The last thing I needed was for her to break that barrier between us.

  “You don’t like it when I touch you?” Raven didn’t try to move her hand away and I didn’t let it go.

  “If I can’t touch you, then you can’t touch me either.”

  “But you are touching me.” Her eyes lowered to her wrist caught in the air by my hand. “Does that mean I can touch you too?”

  I didn’t move a muscle when she bored a finger into my shoulder. “Good thing I don’t have long nails or this might hurt.”

  “I’m not afraid of pain, Raven.”

  She laughed. “It’s sweet how you Nmen are always trying to be tough to impress me.”

  My face hardened. “Who? Who has been trying to impress you?”

  “Who hasn’t? I’m the only woman here. Did you think no one would make a move?”

  The anger I felt in my stomach almost knocked my breath away. “And have any of them made you laugh yet?” I hadn’t forgotten how she had told me that she would choose a man who supported her dreams and made her laugh.

  Twisting her wrist, she gestured for me to let go. “Leo, people are going to wonder what’s taking you so long. They might think we’re having an affair.”

  I let go and stuffed my hands into my pockets to keep me from doing something stupid like pulling her again
st me. “I’m pretty sure no one will think that. It’s kind of obvious that you don’t like me like that.”

  “True.” She turned and walked back to the table. “And that you don’t like me like that either. I mean, why else would you be fighting for Mila?”

  “Why do I get the sense that it bothers you?”

  Raven avoided looking at me. “Why would it bother me?”

  “Maybe you’re jealous?” My heart was speeding from the thought, but Raven crushed my hope with a dismissive snort. Tilting my head, I watched her move some papers around and cover a book and even though I knew I should just go, my instincts flared up. Raven was trying to hide something. When she took some more file cases and carried them to a pile, I moved over and picked up the book. “What’s this? I didn’t take you for someone to whine about me in a diary.”

  Her small gasp when she turned to see me with the book in her hand made me raise a brow and look down to see papers and pictures stuffed into it. Opening the book, I saw old pictures and lots of little notes with questions on them. I read the first one aloud, “Did Dina tell Khan about it? And what about Magni, does he know?” I looked over at Raven. “Know what?”

  “Nothing. It’s nothing. Just give it to me.” She tried to take the book and the notes from me, but I moved around and kept it out of her reach while reading the next questions, “Did Dina find out who Khan’s real father is and is he still alive today?”

  Like a ship crashing against an iceberg, I stopped and gaped at her. “Raven, what the fuck?”

  “You can’t tell anyone.” She tore the book from my hands and it made some of the other notes with questions fall to the floor. In silence, I read, Did Erica cheat on Marcus and could this secret somehow be related to Dina’s early death?

  My heart was hammering as I bent and picked up the notes. “Start talking, right now, Raven.”

  “Okay, but before I do, you have to promise me that you won’t stop me from investigating.”

  “Investigating what?”

  “Dina’s death. She was Khan’s and Magni’s sister who died when she was fifteen, just one week after being married. I found her case last week and I don’t believe it was suicide like it stated. Last night I was reading through her old diaries and I came across her telling that she overheard her parents fighting. It turns out that Khan isn’t the son of Marcus Aurelius.”

  My hands flew to my hair. “Who in their right mind leaves explosive information like that in a fucking diary?”

  “A twelve-year-old girl.”

  “Give it to me.” I reached out my hand. “How did you even get your hands on it to begin with?”

  “No.” She pulled her hands away. “It’s my research. Mila gave me permission to read her aunt’s diary and I had all the notes on the wall in my room, but I was afraid someone might walk in and see it. You can’t have it.”

  My tone grew deeper. “You don’t understand what you’ve stumbled upon. If people find out that Khan isn’t the rightful heir to rule the country and that Erika was unfaithful to Marcus it will be the biggest scandal this country has ever seen.”

  “Why? What does it matter? Khan is already the ruler. It’s not going to change anything.”

  “Fuck yes it will change things. You don’t understand the ramifications if this comes out. Khan won’t be able to stay the ruler and if he doesn’t surrender power freely, there will be a rebellion.”

  “You can’t know that.”

  I lowered my voice. “No ruler has ever surrendered power freely, Raven. That diary could set off a new civil war.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “I doubt it. Really? War?”

  “Just because there’s been peace for decades now doesn’t mean it couldn’t happen again. We could face a bloodbath and just to be clear: if Khan loses there’s a big chance his entire family will be killed. That includes Mila.”

  She gasped. “You’re not serious?”

  “As your boss, I’m demanding that you hand over everything you have and forget you ever saw it.”

  “No.”

  “Raven, it’s not up for debate. I’m confiscating this.” I took the research from her and stayed firm when she got mad. There was no way she could comprehend the magnitude of what she had discovered, but I did. The danger was not only that this information might get out to the public, but also that Khan and Magni would discover that Raven knew about it. Would they trust her to keep quiet, or take precautions to silence her? No one could know about this and I would take it to my grave to protect her!

  CHAPTER 10

  Confronting Erika

  Raven

  When I came home Friday night after Leo had confiscated my research, I was hell-bent on not letting him stop me.

  He might have all my notes, the diary, and the article, but I had access to a key witness, and all day I had been thinking about how to approach Erika.

  Mila had gone with the rest of her family to visit Laura’s twin sister, but I couldn’t wait for her return on Sunday before talking with Erika about what I had learned in Dina’s diary.

  That’s why I joined the older woman after dinner in the library, where she was playing a game of cards by herself while watching a show on the entertainment center.

  “Erika, do you mind if I join you?”

  She smiled. “Not at all. Would you like a game of cards?” Erika was always very stylish, but today she wore a large knitted sweater that looked more cozy than fashionable.

  “Not really. What are you watching?”

  She waved a hand through the air. “It’s a dating show.”

  I sat down next to her and looked at the large screen. “What’s a dating show?”

  “One Motlander bride deciding between five Nmen. They each get a date with her to impress her but so far they’re not doing too well. That one with the braided beard was so nervous that he hardly spoke to her at all. He’s from Alaska and had never seen a woman in real life. The third one from the left told her a crude joke that made her wrinkle her nose up in disgust a few minutes ago.”

  I watched as another man was presented to us viewers as the next contender for the Motlander bride, who was a smiling woman in her late twenties called Saphira.

  “Zander is a man who loves nature,” a narrator spoke while we saw footage of the large Nman running in a forest, climbing trees, and driving a snowmobile. “But he’s also excited to learn more about other cultures and having a best friend to laugh with.” More footage showed Zander standing outside a restaurant like he was waiting for someone. With a wide grin and clear blue eyes, he looked straight into the camera.

  Erika sighed. “Why didn’t they mention anything about how well he fights? Who wants a man who cares about other cultures?”

  “Motlander women.”

  Erika narrowed her eyes in suspicion. “Don’t tell me you would pick a man who couldn’t fight.”

  “Not a chance.”

  “Good. I knew we had raised you better than that.” Her eyes returned to the screen, where Zander was trying to impress the Motlander bride, Saphira, with his cooking skills.

  “What is your favorite piece of art?” she asked him as they sat down for dinner.

  “Does porn count?” Zander quickly swallowed his laugh when Saphira didn’t even smile.

  “What is porn? Is it a painting?”

  I was amused when Zander’s ears grew red and he offered her some more food with nervous movement. “It’s a very graphic art form. You probably wouldn’t like it.”

  “Maybe you could show me.”

  “Uh-huh, but not tonight. What kind of art do you like?”

  “I enjoy music very much and sculptures. Do you like sculptures?”

  A loud snort came from Erika. “These women… it’s like they turn everything upside down. They want men who can make them laugh and who know about art, and conversation. Why would they come to the Northlands for that? If they want weak men, then they should have stayed home.”

  “It’s not that the
y want weak men. They just define strength in a different way than people do here.”

  Erika lowered her brow. “They are trying to tame our men and make them soft. I don’t like it. A real man has to be a bit dangerous.”

  I thought about the times I’d seen Leo fight at the police station and how it had always excited me to see how lethal he was. “I know what you mean.” I nodded at the screen. “Still, maybe it’s not such a bad thing that the women get a chance to get to know the men and interact with them before choosing a mate. I’ve read some of my parents’ old romance novels and there’s something to be said about a man who makes an effort to seduce a woman.”

  “Hmmm.”

  “It’s like Marcus when he made you the ornaments; that was a romantic gesture too.”

  “I suppose you have a point there.”

  Feeling nervous about asking the rude question that was on my mind, I pulled down the sleeves on my blue shirt. “Actually, I have some more questions for you.”

  Erika’s smile stiffened. “If it’s about Dina, I can’t offer you more than I’ve already told you.” Picking up her pile of cards from the table, she began shuffling them with abrupt movements.

  Her dismissive signals were as clear as day, but I needed answers to solve my case or I would never prove to the world that I had what it took to be an officer. An unwilling witness shouldn’t be enough to stop me. Taking a deep breath, I blurted out, “We found Dina’s diaries and I’m not sure you know this, but she overheard you and Marcus fight one night when she turned twelve.”

  Erika slowed her shuffling.

  “Marcus said that he wasn’t the biological father of Khan.”

  All the color faded from Erika’s face, and she put down the cards and placed her shaky hands on the table. “Dina must have misunderstood what she heard. Marcus was the father of all our children.”

  Even though we were alone in the library, I still leaned closer and lowered my voice. “Erika, I know he wasn’t. I’m sorry for the question but did you cheat on Marcus?”

  “Cheat?” Her hands were now clinging to the side of her chair like she was afraid she might fall down. “How dare you?”

  “I’m sorry, Erika. I don’t mean to judge you.”